Dogs don't know it's not bacon

I'm not sure I've ever enjoyed watching a baseball game as much as I enjoyed watching game 1 of the World Series last night. The Phillies absolutely dominated the Yankees throughout. Cliff Lee pitched an incredible game, looking almost bored as he performed amazing feats like that behind-the-back, no-look catch. In celebration, I present my favorite Phillies-related commercial, starring Jimmy Rollins. Keep it up, boys!

Maurissa "Dollhouse" Tancharoen's younger brother Kevin Tancharoen will direct the sci-fi action film Arcana for Universal. It'll be produced by Brett Ratner. Details are being kept under wraps, but "it's described as a live-action graphic novel influenced by Blade Runner that includes martial arts and uses production methods similar to Zack Snyder's 300." Except for the reference to 300, that's all good news! (Via)

We've been going to a lot of Camden Riversharks baseball games this season out at Campbell's Field in Camden. Despite poppy's Dad constantly trying to explain them to us, poppy and I still don't fully understand the rules of baseball (I keep thinking of Futurama's impossibly complicated Blernsball), but we love ballpark food and beer, and it's good to hang out with our Dads, and the other friends and relations we've talked into going along with us. One of the more entertaining things about Riversharks baseball is all the commercial sponsorships and odd little events they have between innings, and one of the strangest of all of those is the aerosol can race. This is a relatively new addition to the entertainment wherein a couple of people dressed as aerosol cans run around the bases. Apparently it's meant to inform you that you can recycle aerosol cans in Collingswood. Last night's race was even stranger than usual as, for no reason we could discern, Batman, Batgirl, and Spider-Man joined in! It was the crossover of the ages! I guess they had the costumes lying around and wanted to use them, but didn't want to dream up a whole new event based around them, so they just put them on and ran alongside the aerosol cans. That's the story we made up to explain it, anyway. Spider-Man was easily the fastest runner; even though he started a little late, he beat the pants off of everybody else. Which makes sense when you think about it, as he was the only one there with superhuman strength and speed. Also, I believe he may have fired webs back at his competitors as he passed them, which would definitely have slowed them down. Afterwards, the three heroes wandered the stands, danced to the songs being played on the PA (Spider-Man was also the best at dancing; that guy has all the luck), and were harassed by young fans (it was Tween Night), who maybe wanted autographs, or to be saved by them, I don't know. But man, that one kid really wanted to talk to Batman. "BATMAN! BATMAN! BATMAN!" over and over.

Tween Night wasn't as horrifying as it sounds, by the way. It just meant the music they played was a little more contemporary than usual. Some of the songs seemed terribly inappropriate, some were really jaw-droppingly terrible, and others were surprisingly good. I wondered who picked the soundtrack - if someone consulted with actual tweens, or stole a tween's iPod, or what.

As for the game, the Riversharks were going up against the Newark Bears, whom we've seen them play a number of times this season. This time it looked like it was going to be a blowout by our hometown heroes; by the middle of the game they were up seven to zip. But then they got complacent, threw some bad pitches, and let the Bears cut their lead to one. It was frustrating, but certainly made the game more tense and exciting. Luckily they managed to hold on and knock out the Bears in the top of the 9th, making the bottom of the inning unnecessary. This was especially good for us because we were tired and at this point the game had gone on for a lengthy three and a half hours (the Phillies game, which started at the same time, was over well before the Riversharks game!).

Because it was a Friday night, after the game there was a fireworks spectacular. This was fun as always. A couple of slightly weird things about it, though: the music they chose as a soundtrack to the fireworks was Don McLean's "American Pie." Now, I love this song, and I sang along throughout, but it's kind of surreal and depressing and maybe not the appropriate soundtrack to a fun-filled fireworks spectacular. Also, the fireworks were so close and the wind was blowing so hard, embers from the explosions drifted right into the stands, some landing very nearby. This was a bit disturbing, especially considering there had been a slightly scary, smoky fire on the nearby Ben Franklin Bridge earlier in the evening. But I didn't see anybody get burned and run screaming, so no biggie.

Hulk see other candidates for president were asked which team they endorse in World Series. No one ask Hulk, but Hulk answer anyway: the Phillies. Philadelphia teams endure constant hatred and scorn, and have been without peace or happiness for many, many years. Hulk sympathize with that.

Also, went to TrackerNeil's annual Halloween party earlier. Good times, as always. I went as Radagast the Brown, a relatively obscure character from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I wasn't sure if anybody would know who I was, but I foolishly underestimated the geek quotient; pretty much everybody recognized me straight off. These are my people! There were also lots of great snacks (including most excellent waffles, made by The Waffler himself!), and a lengthy session with Rock Band 2 that was enjoyed by all (the guitar stuff I find a little dull at this point, after all my time with Guitar Hero, but the drums and vocals are still new to me, and I really enjoy them). Everybody had great costumes (well, except those two losers who showed up without costumes!), but I especially enjoyed the Chicken Caesar Salad (a Julius Caesar costume with lettuce leaves, croutons, and tomatoes stuck all over him, and a rubber chicken acting as the sheath for his sword) and the really impressive Hellboy. (UPDATE 1: I also really enjoyed Zoe and Kevin's costumes; she was the creepy little girl in the gas mask who went around asking everybody, "Are you my mommy?" from that one episode from the first season of the modern Doctor Who - rather obscure, but she pulled it off disturbingly well. And Kevin was a pre-Evil League of Evil Dr. Horrible. Yay!) (UPDATE 2: And now there are pictures!)

So, I really am getting to like baseball. I'm seeing the strategy and the drama of it, the tension and complexity of each at-bat. But one thing is bothering me: what the hell is with all the spitting? Seriously, every time they cut to the pitcher, he's spitting. Every time they cut to the bull pen, there's a whole line of guys spitting one after the other. Partially it's because a lot of them chew tobacco, but what the hell is with that? Who chews tobacco? How did that disgusting habit become a tradition in this sport? Sure, baseball is pretty unique among sports in the amount of time that players spend just sitting around not doing anything, so some kind of habit of the sort was bound to become popular just so they could keep themselves occupied somehow. But did it have to be something that involved all the spitting?

About
Welcome to the blog of Jim Genzano, writer, web developer, husband, father, and enjoyer of things like the internet, movies, music, games, and books. For a more detailed run-down of who I am and what goes on here, read this.